Deep Learning for Automated Airway Segmentation and Quantitative Remodeling Assessment on CT

Primary supervisor

Yasmeen George

Co-supervisors

  • Chuan Foo <chuan.foo@monash.edu>
  • Francis Thien <frank.thien@monash.edu>

Studies using computed tomography (CT), particularly high-resolution CT and quantitative CT have become a crucial non-invasive method for examining airway thickness and the structural changes known as airway remodeling in chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma. Bronchial thermoplasty is a treatment option for patients with severe asthma and works by applying heat energy to reduce the amount of excess airway smooth muscle, which is often abnormally thickened in patients with asthma. We have a unique cohort of 45 patients who have undergone high resolution CT chest scans before and after bronchial thermoplasty.

 

     

     

    Aim/outline

    The aims of this project are to

    1. Develop AI model for CT segmentation of the airway tree
    2. Derive quantitative outputs such
      1. Airway geometry (wall thickness, lumen area, airway wall area percentage)
      2. Airway volume (total lung volume, proximal and distal airway volume)
      3. Airway mucus plug score

     

    The hypotheses to be tested are

    1. Does bronchial thermoplasty, by reducing airway smooth muscle, result in a reduction in airway wall thickness, an increase in lumen area, and an increase in airway volume (particularly distal airway volume)
    2. Does bronchial thermoplasty reduce airway mucus plugging 

    URLs/references

    The following are some references on this topic  [1-6]

    1.         Coxson HO, Quiney B, Sin DD, Xing L, McWilliams AM, Mayo JR, et al. Airway wall thickness assessed using computed tomography and optical coherence tomography. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2008;177(11):1201-6.

    2.         de Jong PA, Muller NL, Pare PD, Coxson HO. Computed tomographic imaging of the airways: relationship to structure and function. Eur Respir J. 2005;26(1):140-52.

    3.         Grenier PA, Fetita CI, Brillet PY. Quantitative computed tomography imaging of airway remodeling in severe asthma. Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2016;6(1):76-83.

    4.         Krimsky WS, Mammarappallil JG, Kim V, Bannan B, Charbonier JP, Hatton BA, et al. Airway Mucus Plugging in Chronic Bronchitis and the Impact of Bronchial Rheoplasty. Chest. 2025.

    5.         Dunican EM, Elicker BM, Gierada DS, Nagle SK, Schiebler ML, Newell JD, et al. Mucus plugs in patients with asthma linked to eosinophilia and airflow obstruction. J Clin Invest. 2018;128(3):997-1009.

    6.         Langton D, Banks C, Noble PB, Plummer V, Thien F, Donovan GM. The effect of bronchial thermoplasty on airway volume measured 12 months post-procedure. ERJ Open Res. 2020;6(4).

    Required knowledge

    PyTorch, Python, Medical Image Analysis